Diary of a Network Geek

Yes, there are plenty.

No, really, even though IT is a male-dominated industry, there are still plenty of powerful women in high-ranking position. Here’s a link to the top ten, according to eWeek.com. I just thought it was worth mentioning for any geeks who might be reading my blog that happen to be female. I’m sure it gets frustrating sometimes, being a woman in our industry, so I thought it was worth reminding you that there are women who’ve “made it to the top”, as it were.

Sooner or later, we pay for everything.

So, I’ve been thinking again.  Always a dangerous thing with me.  Tonight, I was thinking about what things cost and how I’ve paid for them over the years.   No, I’m not talking about cash and the level of debt I carry.  Well, I’m not talking about cash, anyway.
Nor am I talking about any simple, tangible form of payment.  Tonight, I found myself contemplating lost opportunities.  It’s a reality that hadn’t occurred to me until I was in college, really.  The idea that by choosing one course of action, or inaction, other courses were lost or unavailable.

I’ll give you an example.  If LK had stayed involved with me last year, she likely would have missed out on the opportunity to move to Denver and do all kinds of great things for her business.  Sure, she would have had that relationship, such as it was, but, I think she would have missed out on a bigger, better opportunity for her.  That business was her life, in many ways, and, as much as I wanted to, I couldn’t help her enough with it.  And, yes, I’m glad that she made that particular choice, because it was the best choice for her.  But, it did have intangible costs associated with it.
For instance, if she’d stayed here and with me, we might have gotten married.  Granted, where I was mentally and emotionally at this time last year, that was pretty unlikely, but, still a possibility.  Or, any of a number of things could have happened here, in Houston, for her and her business, that she didn’t get to experience because moving away cost her that opportunity.

I think I missed out on an opportunity myself, recently, because I spent too much time considering it and not acting on it.  It happens.
And, then, there are all manner of lost opportunities that passed me by while I was in the hospital taking chemotherapy.
On the other hand, passing up those few, small, opportunities allowed me to continue living, which will provide a whole lot more opportunities that won’t pass me by.

Funny, when I sat down to write this, that’s not where I thought I was going.
God sure does work in mysterious ways.
I wonder what opportunities I’ll have tomorrow?

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"I'm always amazed that people take what I say seriously. I don't even take what I am seriously."
   --David Bowie

No, not the kind you’re thinking of…

Remember all the hype about the Juice Box Personal Media Player for kids a couple of years ago? Well, they didn’t do so well in the market place, but, now you can get them cheap at Overstock, though to get the ones that let you upload your own media, you’ll pay a little more. Why is that cool, you ask? Simple, according to Street Tech, they run a flavor of Linux and are hackable. And, based on my own, personal research, that seems to be true. You can load Linux on them and they sure seem hackable.

Hmm, cheap, hackable, Linux-based… I might have to get “hands-on” with this…
Well, I have to do something while I wait for my eyebrows to grow back in!

Yea, robot killerz in the house, yo!
Sorry, but I guess I’m feeling extra white and had to make up for it. In any case, the US military is working toward that whole Terminator/Skynet thing one mecahnized soldier at a time. Now, it’s a robot that breaks Asimov’s First Law. (For those of you who aren’t Ubergeeks like me, that’s Asimov’s First Law of Robotics, or, “A robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.”) But, that first article is just the most recent one in the popular press. This has actually been around since January of 2006 and they’ve been deployed in Iraq since February of that same year. But, if those two killer robots aren’t cool enough for you, homes, try the automated sentry gun. Think of it as an entry-level Terminator.

(Hey, at least this should be the last of the old posts that I’d been “saving” for a rainy day!)

Arrr, today be International Talk Like A Pirate Day, me blog maties!

Few are the holidays made for such as we, ye digital sea dogs, but this be one of ‘em. Ye don’t ‘ave to be a data pirate or music pirate or any kind of law breakin’ pirate at all to join in the fun. Ye just ‘ave to like talkin’ like a pirate, ya’ scury dogs! So, whether ye be a privateer, a corsair or a buccanner, or ye just wanna be, go on the account fer just the day and chase ye booty, while ye may! Then finish ‘er off w’ a bit o’ good grog and throw in a hearty “yo, ho, ho”. Then set aside the sweet trade fer the life of a land lubber fer another year, but, ’till this great, glorious day rolls ’round again, dream o’ dubloons an’ grog, and International Talk Like A Pirate Day.

Just a little something for the techie manager-types.

I know I still have some tech-geeks who read this blog. I mean, I did start out, all those years ago, blogging about mainly technical stuff and some of the real die-hards have to still be reading, right? Well, I do try to keep y’all in mind and occasionally write up something that might help you get things done. Most of you fellow geeks know me as a Novell enthusiast, but I don’t limit myself to just one set of tools. There’s an old saying that when your only tool is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Well, I like to keep a bunch of tools in the old tool bag to solve all kinds of problems.

Sometimes, though, it’s not that easy to figure out which tool to use. So, when I saw these two related articles on TechRepublic about choosing the right tools, I thought I’d share. The first is a blog post that describes the D.I.C.E framework. (In short, D.I.C.E is an acronym for Difficulty, Investment, Capability and Expandability. All things to keep in mind when implementing new technology.) The second article is really a download. It’s a spreadsheet that helps you evaluate systems in relation to the D.I.C.E framework.
So, between the two, you should have a little extra help determining what technology to install and support.
And, you might even pick up a few ideas about how to present it to the boss, too!

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"One day you'll love me as I have loved you. One day you'll think of me as I've thought of you. One day you'll cry for me as I've cried for you. And one day you'll want me and I won't want you."

Soaking up the rays!

Hey, two great tastes that taste great together!
My regular readers will know that I love WiFi, even if security can be an issue, but they may not know how much I love solar power. Now, there’s a company in Florida that’s combining WiFi access points with solar power. Granted, it’s to overcome some limitations in their copper cable network, but, still, I think it’s a totally cool idea.

Yep, a wearable Linux PC.

I love this. Not only because I love Linux, but because I love science-fiction. I mean, a computer you can wear on your wrist? What could be better? I honestly don’t know what all the ZYPAD can do, but when it’s made by a company called “Eurotech”, the sky’s the limit! Chase the link and look at this little sucker. Does that not look like something out of Space:1999? Surely, the first batch of Mars astronauts will be wearing something like this, complete with wireless interfaces to all their ship’s systems.

*sigh* Yeah, I know… I’m a geek, but, hey, at least I know it and embrace my geekness. Besides, even non-geeks have to admit that this is pretty cool. (And, yes, this is old news, but I’m doing some cleaning out of old posts, so bear with me.)